Welcome back to All Things Running with Sonja & Jen
We received two questions on the topic of hormones and female runners. We’ll answer those questions below. Sonja will take you through what she has learned through her research and then I’ll follow up with what my experience has been over the past few years.
Question: What are some ways we can continue to naturally maintain the effect of Menopause / hormone loss in masters runners, high level vs others. What are tips and tricks for getting through menopause naturally?
Sonja:
Nutrition/Supplement Strategies for female athletes with hormonal considerations.
Peri- Menopause and Menopause are a natural part of life that all women, including female athletes, will have to go through. It’s frustrating that there’s a lack of research studies done on female athletes in the menopausal stage of life.
Peri- Menopause and Menopause are accompanied by hormonal and body changes that may alter training and nutrition routines. But this doesn’t mean you can’t implement strategies that will help you continue to perform as an athlete to the best of your ability.
First and foremost you must know where your “starting point” is regarding your body and hormonal status. A full blood panel via a lab draw that measures the levels of your thyroid, vitamin D, sex hormones, CBC (iron, ferritin, inflammatory markers) and other key points for overall health and wellness is imperative information you must have. You can go to your wellness doctor, OBGYN, or even use a service such as InsideTracker to get this done.
Once you have that information, and address any glaring issues, here are some of the known “best practices” as researched and implemented by physiologists, sports nutritionists, and dietitians within the ISSN (International Society of Sports Nutrition), led by Dr Jose Antonio, Ph.D, and also by Dr. Stacy Simms, Ph.D and author of the book ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life.
-10-15 grams of whey protein (high leucine), and 200-220 calories before any workout longer than 90min the week before your period. This will help ensure adequate energy stores and combat the catabolic effect from progesterone surges.
-You burn 5-10% more calories overall during the premenstrual week.
-Hormones fluctuate during the premenstrual week cause bloating and a drop in plasma volume. (Up to 8%!) This negatively affects our cardiac output. For this reason pay special attention to hydration during this week, before your workout...especially in hot weather. Start preloading with sodium the night before (ie: chicken broth); Preload with an electrolyte balanced drink. Also, drink a low carb (9 grams per 8 oz), drink every hour during workout.
-Mix of Magnesium, omega 3 fatty acids and 80mg of aspirin help alleviate Pms cramping.
-Peak Performance during PMS:
Take 250mg of magnesium, 46 mg of zinc, 80mg of aspirin, and 1 gram of omega 3s each night for the 7 days before your period starts.
-Pre-training: take 5-7 grams of BCAAs and/or 15 grams of whey protein. (150cals to combat the cortisol)
2 cups of beetroot juice 2.5 hours before to dilate blood vessels and improve circulation.
-Track stack: (hard workouts only, 20min before)
150mg of caffeine
1-2 x 80mg of aspirin
1500-2000mgs of beta alanine
In training:
-consume more carbs (about 61 grams per hour during high hormones, 47 grams during low hormone).
- use beta alanine to enhance blood circulation during exercise.
Post training:
-recovery is crucial because Progesterone is catabolic. Aim for 20-25 grams of protein within 30 min of finishing.
- try to always cool off post exercise via cool towels or water immersion. (Facilitates blood flow)
- consume another 20-25 grams of whey isolate and casein protein 2 hours after workout and another 10-15 grams before bed.
General Recommendations:
-Overall a 135lb woman needs 122-135 grams of protein per day.
-You must exercise an hour per day to just maintain current fitness and body composition during perimenopause and after.
-Stay away from FRUCTOSE!! (Especially if you are perimenopausal or post menopausal). It causes gastrointestinal stress and discomfort due to its high simple sugar content.
-With age women become more sensitive to carbs and have a harder time digesting them.
-Use valerian root (400mg) and tart cherry juice to fall asleep as an alternative to melatonin.
-Fasting, (even intermittently) is not advised for athletic women! It drives cortisol up promoting fat storage and long term can cause adrenal fatigue.
-Avoid antioxidants for 4-5 hours post exercise because they suppress your body’s own recovery mechanisms during that sensitive time frame (later, post workout is fine).
-If lab results indicate a need (ie: Ferritin under 50) Take a strong iron supplement every 2 days or 1 time week.
-Take 1500mgs of beta alanine daily - studies show excellent performance gains regarding lactate buffering.
-Depending on lab results take 1000-5000 ius of d3 daily- variety of health benefits. Ideal target for labs is a level of 60+ of vitamin D in your blood.
-400mg of magnesium daily (at night) will help improve sleep quality and muscle recovery.
Jen:
Every person is unique. And as Sonja mentioned above, it is important to make sure you are getting everything that YOU need. I’ll share my personal experience as I am making my way through menopause. Currently I am producing enough estrogen on my own but I have a total absence of testosterone & progesterone.
Whether we are talking about young women growing, pregnant women or aging women our hormones are always changing. Having adequate hormones is essential for our overall health and well being so it is important to get it checked.
There are no natural hormone supplements to take and honestly there is not enough research to say that it is safe. Taking DHEA is banned at USATF & World meets. Other hormone pills typically used for periods are allowed but you should discuss this with your doctor. I do have running friends who have gone this route with success. Given my current hormone levels it was not recommended at this time.
I have been working very closely with my primary doctor, a naturopathic doctor and have been using InsideTracker since 2015. I have a very good idea of what is normal for me. My primary doctor is also a masters female triathlete so she knows exactly what I am going through. We recently did a bone scan & a thorough hormone check. She determined that I am not a candidate for supplemental hormones yet but we’ll keep monitoring it.
Keeping stress under control is essential to our overall well being, as this can further impact your hormone levels if cortisol is too high. Your body will produce less estrogen when you are stressed. This was the reason behind my 2 stress fractures in my foot a few years back. I had a lot going on and I didn’t adjust my training. The thought that I had to pull back on the thing that makes me happy made me angry. The smart thing would have been to back off. I’m stubborn sometimes. Lesson learned.
The body needs estrogen in order to repair bone. Bone repair is something that happens daily. Our full bone density is formed in our late teens and early 20’s. After this point, the focus shifts to preventing bone loss. This is why missing periods when you are younger is not okay.
To combat any effects of bone loss I do take a calcium supplement daily, Raw Calcium, which contains D & K to help absorb better. Running & lifting are also helping to keep my body healthy and strong. Absorption is key here. You need D & K to absorb Calcium. I have absorption issues and I must not consume enough calcium through food to meet my body’s requirements. This supplement has been essential to keeping my level normal.
The worst of my menopause symptoms is producing an incredible amount of heat when I sleep, so much so that I wake in a puddle. One of my tricks is to turn the water down to cold at the end of my shower or taking cold water baths before bed. This helps cool my body & allows me to sleep easier. I also did invest in some linen sheets which have gone a long way to help my body stay comfortable. Sheets with any amount of polyester or other non cotton material just don’t work for me.
My weight definitely shifted last year. My training and eating habits had not changed significantly but my body weight went up by 5.6% in one year. I’ve pretty much been the same weight all my life. So any loss or gain is noticeable. Normally I am not one to weigh myself often but I could tell that my body looked different for me.
During the past year I became very carbohydrate sensitive. I was craving more carbs. I corrected this pattern by making sure I consume protein & fat with my carbs. My body seemed to have changed its insulin response. This is known as insulin resistance. The body doesn’t as easily take up glucose from the blood and so your body produces more insulin which creates the craving to consume more carbs. All the extra carbs are then stored in the body as fat because they all aren’t being used.
I was having sleep disturbances but they all disappeared when I stopped drinking wine. I would fall asleep pretty quickly only to wake up feeling startled around 1am and then finding it impossible to fall back to sleep. So I ditched wine forever and I established a good sleep routine. I do find that when I’m stressed it produces a very similar sleeping pattern.
Hopefully you find this information helpful to hear that other athletes are going through it and ways in which we can continue to help ourselves naturally.
Thank you so much for taking the time to ask us questions. The best way for you to support us is for you to share this blog with others. Next week we’ll discuss racing after a long layoff or setback, resiliency & overcoming setbacks.
Click on our names to read more about us, Sonja and Jen
Sonja and Jennifer are sharing their personal experiences. This is being provided for informational purposes only. We are not giving medical advice and you should always consult your own doctor for advice related to your own health.